It gives hope that the Meghalaya High Court has entertained a public interest litigation (PIL) vis-à-vis the cleanliness of Shillong city. The High Court should come down heavily on polluters and civic institutions that have failed to carry out their stated mandate of civic management. The oldest landfill at Marten has now outlived its utility and is bursting at the seams. The time has come to decentralize the idea of the landfill. Let every locality brainstorm and find ways and means of handling its own garbage. This might bring in a greater sense of responsibility and will also make the residents of every locality reduce the amount of garbage generated. In fact a time has come to charge every resident according to the weight of the garbage. The idea that anything that is waste can be “thrown away” or discarded without a thought as to where the trash lands up is a very disturbing phenomenon of developed and developing nations. The torrential rains on Thursday have exposed just the lack of capacity of our drains to carry the rain water to its destination. Clogged drains have resulted in water-logging in large parts of Shillong City.
The High Court has taken up the issue of health and hygiene. These are crucial issues and the Court needs to know that there are huge rivulets in this city which are today used for “throwing” garbage into and have become drains where even dead animals are dumped. Another point for the benefit of the High Court is the unregulated manner in which rivers and streams are used to wash vehicles where the oil and other toxic discharge are allowed to flow into the streams. It must be reminded that the two main rivers – Umkhrah and Umshyrpi that flow through the city were once sources of drinking water for the people of Shillong. Today the situation is so far gone that the rivers have become the dumping ground for household garbage. Some unscrupulous households release the effluents from their latrines directly into the rivers. Despite Government notifications banning this criminal act, residents continue to violate the strictures. It is here that the role of the Court becomes important. Penal action by the judiciary should bring in the needed compliance. Otherwise, all regulations are violated with impunity.
The city of Shillong is bursting at the seams with no visible and viable civic management plan. It’s time the High Court comes down heavily on the concerned authorities.